So I have this old friend, Irene. Actually her name is Ethel Irene. When I first went to visit her a long time ago, I didn't know her name was 'Ethel' so I told them I was looking for Irene. Took a bit to get that straightened out.
Irene, one of my 'sisters in Christ,' has been a good friend, although she really hasn't known who I am. I'll explain: Irene has had a sort of dementia for a long time now. She has been in a rest home and her two sons, who live in the same town, are really pretty worthless human beings; guess that is not nice to say, but they have never come to visit her. When she was still in her apartment, they moved in and mooched off her and would get to her social security checks before she did, and cash them. Her mind was such that she didn't know they were doing this. So one day a couple ladies I know came and arranged for her to be put in a care home; they bought comfortable clothes for her and moved her in.
That is basically when I began visiting her. I had been in her company many times prior to this, but now she was in a strange place and needed to see a familiar face. She didn't remember my name but her face always lit up and she knew that she 'knew' me.
Irene loved to sing. I'd bring my hymn book and we'd sing. She didn't even need to see the book; she was singing from what was in her heart and memory, which was a surprise since her memory was 'compromised.'
A few months ago when I visited Irene, she had had a stroke. So no more talking and singing for Irene. She was bedfast and her eyes were glazed over and she couldn't speak. So I talked to her and she would stare at me. But we couldn't 'visit' any more. But that didn't need to stop me from thinking of her. I could remember her before the One who speaks to the soul even when the mind is gone.
Sadly, I didn't get back to the nursing home like I should have; life is hectic to say the least and Irene's nursing home is 40 minutes away.
Yesterday I was there again. I walked up and down the hall looking for her name on a name plate outside the hospital doors. She wasn't in the one where I'd been so I went to the nurses' desk and they said, 'Oh, ma'am, she has expired.' Well, expired indeed! Like a bottle of salad dressing or what?! I don't like that terminology! They informed me that I could find out more at the social workers office down the hall.
So I found this office and asked 'What happened to Ethel (Irene)?!' Well, about a month ago, Irene had to be taken to the general hospital for the second time in a short while and while there she (expired?) passed on into Eternity. I didn't even get to tell her good-bye.
Poor Irene's body is still laying in that hospital's morgue because they can't find any relatives and they knew no one to call. I have her county appointed guardian's phone number and you can bet we are going to find out if her body is still there; if so, we will be having a proper memorial for Irene. She is too good to be forgotten......
